Georgia Inspector General Deron R. Hicks says his staff found no evidence that his boss, Gov. Nathan Deal, pressed for the firing of the top two investigators at the ethics commission. The question is: How hard did he really look? Hicks’ inquiry did not address important disputed points, including whether the commission’s chairman, after being reappointed by Deal, had truly recused himself from an investigation of the governor’s campaign finances.

Federal prosecutors were reportedly investigating tax and loan issues regarding Gov. Nathan Deal as recently as June, newly disclosed documents show. References to the federal inquiry, and details on a state investigation of Deal’s campaign finances, are revealed in a case file recently closed by Georgia Inspector General Deron Hicks.